Hermione's Pest
by GrangerGirl222
Summary: His other hand came up to her face, hovering a moment in hesitation before placing his thumb on her bottom lip and wrenching her mouth open roughly."How would you like your teeth enlarged again, Granger?" Malfoy asked in a whispery voice. Hermione's eyes narrowed, and in a moment of pure hatred for the boy in front of her, she bit his thumb. Hard. *Dramione*
1. Fifth Year

**A/N: Kay, so I've had this random idea stuck in my head. This may or may not continue. Depends on feedback, really.**

 **Also I'm insanely sorry to all of my IHYIRD readers; that story is suffering from major writer's block, so I popped out this short one-shot type story** ** _thing_** **to get my mind writing** ** _something_** **Dramione related.**

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Hermione Jean Granger was very steadily losing all of her patience. One could even say that she was patiently awaiting the day that she had no patience left. It was all Draco Malfoy's fault, and she desperately wanted to slap him again. Sadly, she didn't condone violence. Also he was likely to go off and take a hundred points from Gryffindor if she did so-damn the day he got his Inquisitorial Squad badge-but Hermione liked to think she was better than such violent methods, and that was why she hadn't snapped the ferret in half yet.

Dealing with Umbridge had been dreadful so far, but her main problem was Malfoy. Bloody Malfoy. Hermione noticed sometime in October that her encounters with Malfoy were increasing, however, he wasn't with his bodyguards. And she wasn't with Ron and Harry. It was as if he had tired of annoying three people, and had decided to single her out. She'd even covertly asked her best mates if the Slytherin had been bothering them, and they would only respond with examples of the rare times he provoked the three of them all together. Hermione was getting sick of it; why did he single _her_ out? She wasn't famous-save that gossip article Skeeter had published-and she didn't bother him unless he bothered her first. She needed answers.

Sometime in November, Hermione had decided to borrow the map and stay up late in the library reading. Upon her way back to the dormitories, she spotted Malfoy walking her way. Feeling Gryffindor-ish, she checked the map to make sure it would only be her and Malfoy before sliding it into her pocket and continuing as if she didn't know he was going to appear. Hermione suddenly wondered if he would try to hide so they wouldn't run into each other.

They made eye contact as he appeared from around the corner. _Nope_ , Hermione thought. Malfoy didn't waste time in making her feel uncomfortable as he invaded her personal space, pushing her up against the wall and smirking. Hermione was used to it, however, and sneered back at him with a ferocity that should've made him wet himself. But he just kept on smirking at her, dry as Snape's sense of humor.

"It's not safe for a Mudblood to be out so late all alone," Malfoy whispered in fake worry, narrowing his eyes at her. "It would be a shame if Umbridge caught you and put you in detention for the rest of the year."

Hermione wasn't afraid, and she let him know so. "Do try harder if you wish, but you can't scare me, Malfoy."

His eyebrows shot up. "Oh?" In a flash, Malfoy had grabbed her wand out of the bun in her hair and shoved it into his back pocket, placing his own underneath her chin. "What about now?"

Hermione cursed herself for two things; being foolish enough to put her wand in a place where is was easily accessible to Malfoy, and for not reacting fast enough to defend herself.

Her wand had been the only thing keeping her unruly locks out of her face, and Hermione-for once-was thankful for her hair. It covered her face and hid the initial fear that had crept onto her features. Once she composed herself, after realizing Malfoy was too chicken to do anything to her, she lifted her chin higher and scowled.

"Do your worst, Ferret," she spat, watching in amusement as his nostrils flared. He smirked menacingly.

He got unnervingly close before speaking, his breath moving Hermione's hair to and fro. "Oh, I plan to."

His wand slid up her face, the tip of it tracing her lips. Hermione briefly wondered how much Malfoy would freak if she darted her tongue out and licked it. His other hand came up to her face, hovering a moment in hesitation before placing his thumb on her bottom lip and wrenching her mouth open roughly.

"How would you like your teeth enlarged again, Granger?" Malfoy asked in a whispery voice.

Hermione's eyes narrowed, and in a moment of pure hatred for the boy in front of her, she bit his thumb- _hard_. Hermione grimaced at the taste of blood in her mouth.

He howled in pain, clutching his thumb in his other hand as he backed away muttering obscenities under his breath. Malfoy hadn't moved back enough for Hermione to escape around him, but that didn't stop her. Hermione took the opportunity to try and sneak her wand from his pocket, but had shoved her hand in the wrong one. Malfoy stopped fussing as he looked to Hermione in surprise, his mouth slightly parted as Hermione's hand lay flat in an awkward area. Both of their cheeks were tinged red.

"What the _hell_ are you doing, Granger?" Malfoy hissed. Hermione mentally slapped herself and withdrew her hand, though she took advantage of Malfoy's awkward frozen-like state to reach further around him to grab her wand before fully retreating. Malfoy jumped when her cheek lay on his chest in the process, even if it was barely for a second.

Hermione held up her wand between his eyes and straightened herself. "Getting my wand, you twat. Kindly back off. I'd like to get as far away from you as possible."

"The feeling is mutual, Mudblood," Malfoy said with little emotion, still too startled to add to their fight. He backed off and headed for the dungeons before Hermione could say anything else, his face still hot.

Hermione shook her head at him and shuddered, hoping against hope that he wouldn't bring this debacle up in future tauntings.

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Hermione was wondering whether or not Malfoy was avoiding her because of the incident, or if he'd simply lost his obsessive need to bother her one-on-one when she was practically attacked before breakfast one day. He had seen her walking down a corridor alone, and deserted his friends to wait around the corner for her.

"Did you lose Scarface and Weasel-be?" Malfoy drawled as he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on to pursue Hermione.

Hermione turned on her heel to face him, realizing that he wasn't going to leave her alone until he got the row he was looking for.

"Do you always wait around corners for girls," Hermione spat, not knowing what possessed her to do so. "Or am I just special?"

Malfoy's body language screamed aloof, whereas Hermione had hoped he'd been more affected by her remark. She scanned his face as he advanced on her, realizing when her back hit the wall that deep inside his eyes there was this burning irritation trapped within the grey.

"I do have to admit that you're my favorite Mudblood to torture," he drawled, coming to a stop in front of Hermione with a smirk. He placed his hands on the wall on either side of Hermione's head, leaning against it and trapping her. "If that makes you feel-what did you say?- _special_."

Hermione was glaring at his chest. She just wanted to go to breakfast! Her neck stretched so that she could stare him down. She crossed her arms. "Malfoy, I don't want to fight right now."

He arched one blond eyebrow. "Giving up already?"

Hermione cursed internally. Now she knew she couldn't leave-he was going to count this gratuitous run-in as a _win_ if she left now. Her back teeth ground together.

"Don't you have those two mentally confused bags of fat to boss around or something?" Hermione asked, letting her irritation seep through to her voice.

He smirked at her. "Crabbe and Goyle, you mean? They've gotten themselves a head start on the Great Hall."

Hermione was starting to get uncomfortable with Malfoy's closeness when she noticed a crown-shaped badge pinned to his robes that read, "Weasley is our King."

Malfoy caught her staring. "Would you like one, Granger? I've made extra if you want to bring one to Scarhead, too."

Hermione glared at Malfoy, not liking the tone of his voice one bit. "What are you planning, Malfoy? What do those badges mean?"

Malfoy smirked wider, leaning down until their noses were almost touching. "Wouldn't you like to know, Mudblood?"

Hermione had started to transition from vexed and suspicious to livid and murderous. "If you dare utter another profanity or threaten my friends again, I'll see to it that third year repeats itself."

Malfoy looked only mildly worried. "If you try to lay another hand on me again, I won't stand by and take it this time. Clear, Granger?"

"Sod off, Malfoy," Hermione said with a scowl, shouldering past him when she saw Ginny walk by to accompany the younger girl to breakfast.

Hermione would never say it, but she was thrilled when Harry and George beat the living daylights out of Malfoy after the match that day. But she said nothing to portray her emotions-she wasn't supposed to condone violence, after all.

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"Malfoy encounters" only increased as the year progressed, and Hermione would have started going in pairs everywhere she went if she weren't so bloody stubborn. She was determined to fix her Malfoy problem on her own, and that was that. She didn't even flinch anymore when Malfoy's voice came out from a dark corner, or when her back was unexpectedly slammed into the wall with a pale, pointed face inches from hers. Hermione Granger has adapted to this climate abundant with Malfoy attacks, but that didn't mean that she liked it.

On one particular encounter, Hermione learned that Malfoy doesn't like it when she pokes holes at his appearance and actions. They were on the train away from Hogwarts, and Hermione was planning on how to tell her parents that she was going to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas (really she was going to number 12, Grimmauld Place with the Weasleys and Harry, but they didn't need to know that) when Malfoy had spotted her all alone in a compartment. He gave her a toothy smirk before winking, and was back within five minutes, this time goon-less.

"Did your odor finally make your friends ditch you?" Malfoy asked when he opened the compartment door. He stepped inside, shutting it behind him and closing the blinds. "I owe Pasny five galleons."

Hermione squared her jaw, opting not to tell Malfoy the condition of Mr. Weasley and how he was alive because of Harry's dream. All the Weasley children (and Harry) still in Hogwarts had gotten permission from Dumbledore to see their father in the hospital before term ended.

"You look like you're trying hard not to cry when you sneer, did you know?" Hermione said calmly, extremely pleased with herself when he immediately dropped his sneer and glared hard at her.

"You always look like you've just been struck by lighting with that bush on your head, did you know?" he countered quickly, taking a step closer.

Hermione lifted her chin higher, as if his comment hadn't affected her. "You sound like a constipated troll when you talk."

"You sound like a banshee," Malfoy spat, not stopping his journey to Hermione, " _and_ you look like one."

"You're so pale I can see your veins," Hermione said, tempted to fake a yawn.

"At least my eyes aren't the colour of shit," he said, leering at her from a foot away.

Hermione stood up, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so. "At least I'm not constantly seeking out a girl in my year because offending her is the only thing that makes me feel good about myself."

Malfoy took a deep breath, closing the gap between them to the point that when the train hit a particularly rocky bump, they brushed against each other.

"At least I don't follow around two shit-for-brains morons that only keep me in their presence to do their work all because I have a damn _crush_ on them," Malfoy said in his trademark drawl, appearing to be calm though his fist was clenching and unclenching at his side. Before Hermione knew what she was doing, she had pulled her hand back and let it catapult across his face.

She would have missed Malfoy grabbing her wrists and slamming them into the wall of the train behind her if she had blinked. He was breathing deeply, glaring with a passion. Hermione was having difficulty standing; her legs were pressed against the train bench, causing her back to arch awkwardly in order for her wrists to reach the wall behind her. Malfoy, in his rage, didn't seem to notice that his body was flush against Hermione's.

Hermione noticed, and she didn't like it. They were too close _everywhere_. The train's need to constantly jiggle everything inside of it wasn't helping to sooth the awkward she was feeling, either. The friction was irritating, and Hermione's face was getting red.

"I told you I wouldn't stand by if you hit me again," Malfoy hissed, going as far as to place his lips a hair away from her ear before speaking. "How would _you_ like-"

"Malfoy," Hermione bit out, unable to take him being so near for any longer. "Are you trying to _snog_ me or _torment_ me?"

His cheek brushed hers as his head shot back to look her in the eye. " _What?_ "

Hermione eyed him like he was stupid and looked down to the non-existent gap between them. Malfoy followed her gaze, and blushed when he, too, seemed to find the friction annoying. He took large steps backwards, hitting the opposite wall with a _thunk_.

"Don't hit me again, or you'll regret it, Granger," Malfoy said weakly before rushing out.

Hermione stared at the compartment door for a long while, shuddering when she swore she could still feel Malfoy on her.

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Malfoy was starting to make Hermione snap randomly at her friends by February, yet she still refused to include anyone to help get rid of him. She was going to eradicate this vermin by herself, thank you very much.

After delving into the rather uncomfortable memory of the train, Hermione deducted that her best course of action was to make Malfoy feel like an uncouth toerag that wouldn't leave her alone. She inferred that once his ego was destroyed, he'd move on to someone else instead of dogging her all the bloody time.

Hermione had managed to avoid Malfoy for a whole week, but she couldn't evade him in Hogsmeade-what with Ron at Quidditch practice and Harry with Cho. She didn't mind it, actually. She'd been waiting for an opportunity to begin her plan, and the Umbridge-free village was perfect.

The Shrieking Shack was just starting to get boring when Malfoy made himself known from behind her, letting out a long sigh as he leant on one of the wooden posts of the fence.

"Imagining taking Weasley in there and picking out new wallpaper?" Malfoy asked, his pointed face angled slightly in the direction of Hermione, but mostly at the Shrieking Shack.

"What?" Hermione said boredly, not turning to face him.

"Oh, sorry," Malfoy said, not sounding very sorry at all. "I didn't know you wouldn't be able to afford new wallpaper."

Hermione exhaled a silent puff of air before making her response. "This is all getting quite repetitive, isn't it?"

Malfoy turned to look fully at Hermione, a questionable look on his face. "What's repetitive?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, still facing the shack. "I can't so much as breathe in peace without you running up and making a jibe at me for it."

She waited for him to open his mouth before continuing. "It's all really quite monotonous. The spark is gone, Malfoy." Hermione nearly laughed out loud at the expression she caught on Malfoy's face from the corner of her eye. "We're going to have to end this."

"What the bloody devil are you going on about?" Malfoy spat after a few seconds of nothing.

Hermione finally turned to face him, placing a look of false sadness on her face before she did so. "I can't keep fighting with a bloke that's using the same insult from second year and doesn't know what a personal boundary is." Hermione thought a moment. "Especially when you combine the latter with bad breath." She shuddered.

Malfoy's face was turning red. "Granger, you ignorant Mudblood-"

"Oh, there you go again with that overused insult!" Hermione exclaimed in fake agony. "I can't take it anymore! I think I'll vomit if I hear it again."

Malfoy was starting to look thoroughly complexed. He narrowed his eyes, stepping closer to Hermione and scowling. "Look, Granger, I don't know what the bloody-"

"And now you're invading my personal space!" Hermione said, pinching her nose. "It's as if you didn't hear a thing of what I said earlier."

Malfoy's cheeks went pink. "My breath _doesn't_ stink."

"Look Malfoy," Hermione said, placing a hand on his shoulder that immediately got thrown off. "I know that your two gorilla-like-boyfriends like your breath just fine, but for the sake of the rest of the population, buy a pack of mints."

Malfoy had visibly gotten angrier than Hermione had ever seen Ron, and to be honest, the tiniest sliver of fear had etched itself into her heart.

He harshly bit his lip before speaking, inhaling with wide nostrils as he did so. "So you think I'm gay for those imbeciles I call friends?"

Hermione vaguely thought to point out the fact that he just deemed himself friendless. "Oh, I'm sorry." Hermione parroted Malfoy's tone from earlier. "I didn't know that you weren't ready to come out. I'll keep your secret safe, though. You three lovebirds deserve your privacy."

Hermione had reached up to pat a narrow-eyed, motionless Malfoy's cheek after she spoke, but he had grabbed her wrist before she made contact and pulled her body roughly towards his own. Malfoy then slammed his mouth over hers, shooting his tongue between her gaping lips and dragging it against her top lip when he pulled away.

"How was _that_ for gay?" Malfoy panted with an open-mouthed, wolf-like smile, still clutching Hermione's wrist so tightly she thought the circulation might be cut off. Hermione could do nothing but stare at him with an unhinged jaw until the realization of what he'd just done hit him.

"Oh _Merlin_ ," Malfoy disgustedly breathed, throwing away Hermione's hand like it would form a mind of its own and bite him.

They both stared at each other in horror for precisely thirty seconds. "You tell _no one_."

"Like I'd _want_ to," Hermione hissed. "Same applies for you."

He nodded thickly before running away, leaving Hermione to clear her head and calm down enough to momentarily forget Malfoy. She had to find Skeeter and Luna; that article wasn't going to write itself.

It dawned on Hermione twenty minutes later that Draco Malfoy had kissed her on Valentine's Day.

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They avoided each other for a whole month after that; going as far as turning around and going the direction they had come if they spotted each other alone. Slowly, they seemed to come to a silent agreement that what happened on Valentine's Day never happened. Even slower, much to Hermione's disdain, they started to fall back into their regular routine of one-on-one taunting. Hermione had been _sure_ she'd scared him off effectively, but he was too stubborn for that.

The taunting had reached levels unheard of, and Hermione feared a climax was soon approaching. It was April Fool's Day, and Malfoy had written Hermione a love letter.

She had been walking back to the Gryffindor Commons to finish the book she just got from the library when a pink note fluttered onto it, disrupting her reading. Perplexed, Hermione gingerly picked it up, sliding her book under the crook of her arm as she did so. She looked around her surroundings twice before opening it.

Heart shaped confetti exploded into her face. After coughing out a few that had found their way into her mouth, she began to read it. Several lines made Hermione blink and reread them to make sure they were real. "A sigh never fails to leave my lungs when your hand flies into the air, knowledge soon to flow out your lips," was one. The most extravagant one, however, was the last sentence. "My love, more abundant than the many curls upon your head, soars higher than a snitch," it read.

Nearly dead from laughter, Hermione was jolted sober when a pair of arms roughly encircled her waist.

"Hermione dear," Malfoy drawled into her ear, his smirk almost present in his tone. "You injure my heart with your mockery. I might have to keep your present."

"Oh?" Hermione said, trying and failing to remove his arms from her person. "If it's another curse, you can keep it. Remember last week and the Jelly-Legs Jinx incident?"

Malfoy stiffened slightly at the memory. "No, but how I _wish_ you'd fall into my arms more often!"

His tone suggested otherwise.

"I hope it's a crowbar then," Hermione muttered, pinching at Malfoy's arm.

"What was that?" Malfoy whispered into her ear, his nose brushing against her neck.

"Just give me the present and leave, won't you?"

Malfoy, to Hermione's relief, stepped back to place a hand over his heart. She was tired of inhaling his patented _Rich Spoiled Brat_ cologne.

"Do you not wish to be within my presence as much as I do?"

Hermione scoffed. "Trust me Malfoy, I think we both know how we feel about the other and how mutual it is."

Malfoy's smirk grew. "Then you won't mind me giving you your present?"

"Go ahead," Hermione said boredly, "though I'd appreciate it if you jinxed me closer to the hospital wing."

Malfoy's face suddenly turned serious, and he advanced towards Hermione. She had to use all of her willpower not to back away.

"I really do mean all that," Malfoy said, nodding to his letter. He gently brushed Hermione's hair behind her ear so he could more properly whisper into it. "I think we'd be fantastic together."

Hermione stiffened when his lips hovered down her jawline, aligning themselves over hers but not touching.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Hermione hissed quietly, careful to lean her head back a bit so their lips didn't brush together when she spoke.

"Giving you your gift," Malfoy said, putting his hand behind her head to apply a bit of pressure to convince her mouth to meet his.

Hermione opened her mouth wide to object, and that was when his other hand came up to poor something in it. Hermione coughed and slapped away Malfoy, who was laughing.

"Was it I who caused that _burning_ yearning within you? Oops," he said with a shrug, lifting Hermione's chin with his forefinger.

"That didn't do anything, Malfoy," Hermione said after checking herself for pain.

He smiled. "I almost forgot." He swiped his thumb over her bottom lip, the tip of it touching her tongue. Hermione's throat immediately started to burn, her eyes watering to the point where she could barely see. Steam was most definitely coming out her ears.

"April Fool's, Granger," Malfoy said with a smirk. "Three guesses to how it goes away."

Hermione could guess quite well how something instigated by Malfoy's skin would be soothed.

"How-" Hermione bit her tongue in hopes of soothing the pain. "Did-you-" Hermione couldn't finish her sentence, but Malfoy had caught on.

"I developed it myself. I have quite a knack for potions."

Hermione was suddenly angry. He had deliberately made something that forced contact between them. Why had he chosen to taunt her in such an odd way? She had thought that he felt the same about their previous awkward kiss.

Hermione, pissed beyond belief, chose to end her suffering without directly giving Malfoy what he wanted. She cupped the back of his neck and yanked it towards herself, taking a good, long lick. She then bit him as hard as she could. The burning ceased, and Hermione was pleased to hear Malfoy howling as she left, throwing a crumpled up love letter in his face.

He didn't bother her for a while after that, but like everything else, he pretended it never happened and continued to taunt her.

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It had become the last day of fifth year already, and a rough plan was etching itself into the bushy-haired bookworm's brain; she was going to ignore him. If this didn't work, Hermione would be forced to use violence. _Unfortunately_.

Hermione's breath hitched in her throat when she turned into a desolate corner at the same time as Malfoy had, though he was at the other end. He smiled wickedly when he saw her, his step size increasing the slightest, Hermione noted.

Hermione set her shoulders back, looked at a point just past Malfoy's ear, and didn't even flinch when he called her obscenities.

"What are you doing out here all alone, Mudblood?" he drawled, the slightest scrunch of his eyebrows letting Hermione know that he was confused at her behavior.

She didn't respond, causing Malfoy to narrow his eyes. When their paths intersected, he pushed her against the wall and used his arms as barriers so that she couldn't escape easily. Hermione eyed his left arm, calculating her chances of ducking underneath it. She relaxed against the wall after she realized her chances were slim, leaning on it almost nonchalantly. Malfoy's confusion was morphing into frustration very quickly.

"Cat got your tongue? That beast of yours chew it off?" he goaded. Hermione wasn't fazed.

Malfoy's jaw clenched and unclenched. "Oh, sorry. Maybe that ginger idiot beat the cat to it."

More silence passed. He wrapped a curl around his finger rubbed it with his thumb before pulling hard. "How much does this thing weigh? I'm surprised you don't get a brace so your neck doesn't snap in half."

Hermione counted thirty seconds in her head. Malfoy pounded his fist on the wall, frighteningly close to Hermione's ear. She barely jumped.

"You fucking _answer_ me when I talk to you," he growled. Hermione's face was blank as she stared at his shoulder, basking in the anger she was causing him by simply doing _nothing._ Inwardly, she was smiling brightly.

"What the hell- _look at me_ ," Malfoy hissed through his teeth. Hermione lazily glided her eyes up to his face. She didn't make eye contact, didn't even angle her head. The only thing she could possibly see was his chin and lower lip. Damn his height, though it worked to her advantage today.

He had started talking again, and Hermione vaguely registered what he was saying. Something about Mudbloods being too incompetent to function correctly seven days out of the week. The insults didn't matter to Hermione; she was oddly transfixed on his lower lip, amazed by the amount of venom she could detect from seeing so little an amount of a person's face. Malfoy had finally finished ranting, and was sending little hot pants into Hermione's hairline.

Hermione nearly cracked a smile before she spoke. "Are you done?"

Malfoy groaned in frustration, grabbing Hermione's chin and shoving her face upward so they could make eye contact. Hermione was so startled that she allowed shock to play on her face, her lips slightly parted as her eyes darted over Malfoy's face.

They were much too close; Hermione could smell his breath. It wasn't repulsive like she'd said on Valentine's Day. His eyes shut tight before they ripped open, and Hermione was suddenly afraid. She'd never seen him look at her like that before. New was scary, after all.

His face crashed down on hers before she could register what was going on, their noses side by side and foreheads touching. Hermione's breath involuntarily grew labored as she stood frozen, wondering what the hell Malfoy was doing. Hermione felt their foreheads separate, but she couldn't be relieved, for their noses were still touching, which meant that soon their mouths would be, too.

The first thing Malfoy did was bite Hermione's lip, moaning as he did. His tongue came out and swiped against it, appalling Hermione in the sense that she wanted him to do it _again_.

For that reason, Hermione didn't stop him. The friction from the train came back to her, and Hermione suddenly wanted to feel that again. She rested her arms on his shoulders and clasped her hands behind his head, opening her mouth when he bit her lip harder and growled. He slid his tongue down her throat, and Hermione swore she felt him smirk as he did so. One of his hands was lost in her hair, and the other was up her shirt. Malfoy had started biting and licking the skin covering Hermione's throat, and she could feel him smirking against her every time she made a noise.

" _Granger_ ," he rumbled into the crook of her neck, causing Hermione to shiver and bite her lip. She knew then that she would never hear her name the same when he spoke it. "Say my name, Granger."

Hermione was very tempted to whisper an obscenity, but her stomach was fluttering, and she didn't want him to stop what he was doing. " _Draco_ ," Hermione breathed out, raking her nails down his back from under his shirt. He hissed, and straightened up enough to lock eyes.

"What are we doing?" he muttered, the question not sounding like a question at all. He started kissing her again, not waiting for a reply.

When they finally broke for air, Hermione said, "It's called snogging."

Malfoy laughed at that, but stopped short when footsteps filled their ears. For a moment they stared at each other, fear consuming them, but the next they were gone the same way they had came. Hermione desperately wanted to look back at Malfoy's retreating figure, but forced herself to look straight ahead, once again playing the part of the apathetic teen who wanted nothing to do with Draco Malfoy.

Oh, how wrong that was. Subconsciously, a seed had been implanted inside Hermione. A seed that wouldn't grow unless more contact was made, yet burned in an impossibly painful way until such a thing happened.

During the farewell feast, Hermione was painfully aware of Malfoy's burning gaze. She sighed, confusion overtaking her senses when half of her mind screamed at her to forget what happened and avoid Malfoy at all costs, and when the other half wanted the exact opposite.

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 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I might make this into a chapter fic later if I finish IHYIRD. I don't know. Depends on if you guys like it, I guess. So review and let me know; should I continue or not? Until next time,**

 **GG222**


	2. Sixth Year Part One

**A/N: Surprise; an update!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Edit: Updates will be posted weekly or sooner if I finish ahead of schedule.**

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Summer break was full of hard thinking on both Hermione and Malfoy's parts; Hermione was trying to decide if Malfoy was worth all the effort, and Malfoy was trying to figure out how the hell he was going to keep the Dark Lord out of his head long enough to even _think_ about snogging Granger. Hermione finally decided that how Malfoy acted when they first saw each other again would determine her toleration of his antics this year.

They happened upon each other in Madam Malkin's, where he locked eyes with her from in the mirror and called her a Mudblood. Hermione slouched ever the slightest, and half-heartedly talked Ron and Harry down from ripping him to shreds. She whispered in their ears to leave it alone, _just leave it alone_.

Hermione sucked back the pain she felt from Malfoy's cold demeanor and looked him dead in the eye, whispering, "No, don't, honestly, _he's_ not worth it…"

Malfoy's jaw tensed, making a vein jump. "Who blackened your eye, Granger? I'd like to send them flowers."

Madam Malkin shrieked for Mrs. Malfoy to intervene then, which only accomplished a verbal quarrel to ensue between her and Harry. Hermione and Malfoy, through this entire debacle, were engaged in a heated stare that no one seemed to notice. Malfoy broke it only when Harry threw a jibe at his father, and soon after left with his mother, whose contemptuous look at Hermione was seared into her memory. Malfoy slammed roughly into Ron on his way out, pressing something firmly into Hermione's hand, who was on his other side, as he did so.

 _Git,_ Hermione thought with a clenched jaw, slipping whatever the hell was in her hand into her pocket for later.

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Hermione wasn't alone until after the entire Diagon Alley escapade was over-including the Borgin and Burkes incident. She went back to Ginny's room (she slept here when at the Burrow) and pulled a note neatly folded into fours with a tiny golden lion charm the size of a knut magically stuck to the front. In a spidery script so perfect that it made Hermione roll her eyes, it read;

 _Meet by the statue of Lachlan the Lanky on the seventh floor after dinner the third night back._

Hermione scoffed at the note, balling it up in one hand and pocketing the lion charm in the other. She threw the paper wad into the air, closely followed by a spell that set it ablaze. She then levitated it around the room until it was completely destroyed, and cleaned up its ashes.

Like hell she was going.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

Hermione couldn't stop herself from stealing glances at Malfoy during Dumbledore's welcome back speech, not because she had a sudden urge to jump him or anything equally hormonally absurd, but because his levitating fork had caught her eye. She stared at him for several moments, but his apathetic expression didn't waver as the fork continued to bounce up and down.

The next morning, after Hermione discovered the reason for Harry being covered in blood, her decision not to see Malfoy was strengthened. He was just some arsehole that wanted to mess with Hermione's life. Too bad for him, Hermione wasn't going to let that happen.

Come the third night back, Hermione sighed contently as she finished reading her copy of _Advanced Rune Translation_ again. Sweet images of Malfoy's distraught and angry features flooded her senses so vividly it was if Hermione was there under the cloak watching in person, munching on some popcorn. She went to bed smug that night, and not even Lavender and Parvati's incompetent boy chatter bothered her.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Malfoy pulled her into a broom closet as she was on her way to Ancient Runes-a class she didn't have with Harry or Ron.

"Why the hell didn't you meet me behind the statue?" Malfoy growled.

Hermione shoved at his shoulders. "Back off, ferret. I didn't _want_ to, you arse."

Malfoy subconsciously took a step back. "What do you mean you didn't _want_ to?"

"I know it's hard to comprehend, but not every girl melts within your presence," Hermione said, speaking as if he were an especially stupid troll. Malfoy's cheeks went pink.

"I was just going to give you the chain to your damn necklace," Malfoy spat, throwing it at her as he spoke. "Could've at least showed up to tell me your _feelings_."

Hermione jutted her chin out briefly. "After you _stepped on_ my best friend's face?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes, his head going in a circular motion before abruptly stopping to gain her attention. "Is that why you're mad? Because _poor_ Potter got a bloody nose?"

Anger crept up Hermione's neck. "I hate you."

Malfoy paused a moment, his nostrils flaring. "Whoever said I felt otherwise?"

"You did, actually. Following a girl around for over half a year just to get a snog is kind of pathetic, Malfoy," Hermione said as she crossed her arms and clenched her fist to release some of her anger. It didn't work that well.

He ground his back teeth together. "I wasn't following you around for a bloody _snog_ -"

"Where you just carrying that charm around all day, too?" Hermione wasn't sure where she acquired the vicious undertone to her voice, but now that she had it, she couldn't get rid of it. "Was your little heart hoping to run into me in Diagon Alley?"

"I don't know what I ever thought could come out of seeing _scum_ like you," Malfoy said with a sneer after staring hatefully at Hermione for several moments.

"Take your bloody necklace back," Hermione spat. "It's probably cursed, anyway."

Sadly, Malfoy caught it before it could hit him. With the ferocity Hermione had flung it, it would have lodged itself into his cornea for sure.

"What am _I_ going to do with the bloody thing?" Malfoy said, taking a step closer.

"Give it to another Gryffindor," Hermione said with fire in her throat. "One _stupid_ enough to take it."

Malfoy's tongue curled against his teeth. "I'm not keeping it."

He shoved it into her hand and shouldered past her, leaving Hermione alone and gaping in the broom cupboard. She let out an indignant snort, just then realizing that she would be late to class if she didn't run.

"That prat," she muttered under her breath as she started her journey. "That stupid, _good-for-nothing_ , boy. Thinks he can get _whatever_ he wants-"

"Who're you talking to, Hermione?" She bit her lip hard, screeching to a halt and turning to the source of the unique voice which flooded her ears. "If it's the nargles, they can't hear you. You have to whisper to speak to nargles."

Hermione tried to smile at Luna, it coming out more as a grimace. "Just myself, Luna. I'm going to be late-I can't stop to chat."

"Oh, sorry," Luna said, walking at Hermione's brisk pace. She turned her head to the side. "You may have been talking to just yourself, but it wasn't _about_ yourself."

Hermione's lips thinned. "Okay, you got me," she admitted. "I've been irritated lately."

"By who?" Luna asked.

"Oh, um," Hermione stuttered, not wanting to tell her. "Not really a _who_ , per se, more of a _what_."

Hermione could tell that Luna didn't buy her lies a single bit. "Well I'll be going this way now. If you'd like to tell me, you can when you're ready."

Hermione's neck flushed as she parted ways with Luna, knowing she'd never tell the younger girl what was troubling her. She let out a long sigh as she pulled open the door and entered the classroom, two minutes late. Hermione had never been late before-not to this scale.

The worst part about it all was seeing Malfoy smirk out of the corner of her eye, sitting calmly in his desk.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Malfoy desperately hated how frequently Granger spoke in class. He was trying to forget her-focus on his mission and such-but he certainly couldn't do that if she was ranting off facts and figures every second. What with her stupid upturned nose and flowing voice; Malfoy wondered if she'd explode if useless information didn't cloud her every waking thought.

It was disgusting.

He hated the way her hair clung to its surroundings, too-Draco wouldn't be one bit surprised if a decomposing hippogriff was discovered within the deathtrap atop her head; not one bit. Everything about her was brown; _mud-_ ish. Her freckles resemble dirt that she couldn't be bothered to wash off-he even thought dirt would come off his fingers when she accidently brushed against him when they were younger.

It was simply vexing to know that such a horrid creature had denied _him_ ; a _Malfoy_. Draco hadn't been denied many things in his life. It was even _more_ vexing to know that he was being denied what he wanted because he got revenge on the boy who'd sent his father to Azkaban. If Granger had stepped on Goyle or Crabbe-Zabini, even-he would've laughed and congratulated her. It irked him like an itch in the middle of his back that he couldn't reach.

And to complicate things more, his mission was going terribly. He started to hate himself, knowing that even if he _did_ succeed, Granger would hate him more. If he failed, however, he faced death for not only himself, but for his parents, too. He couldn't let the Dark Lord kill his mother. He just couldn't. Self-loathing crept upon him whenever Granger was overly intelligent in class. If she were in _his_ place, she'd be done already. Why was he so incompetent? How could a muggle-born best him?

He hated her for making him feel as if he were the scum and she the prized heir.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Hermione was becoming vexed at Harry's outrageous theories for what Malfoy was up to. She just wanted to forget him, and that was extremely hard when her best mate would demand her input on the latest Malfoy development.

"For the last time, Harry," Hermione said tiredly over breakfast. "He's _not_ a Death Eater."

She pretended to listen to Harry's counter-argument, but was fascinated by how terrible Malfoy was looking. His skin was turning the color of his eyes, which were losing their cold judgement.

It was when he stopped pestering her altogether that Hermione became worried.

Hermione debated with herself for a week until she approached Malfoy on her own. _It's not my business,_ she thought, _and besides, isn't this what I want?_

The memory of Malfoy's body pressed against hers resurfaced almost instantly at that thought, and Hermione was appalled at herself. She was _not_ pining for Draco Malfoy! It was simply something that Hermione Granger did not do. So her decision to go and see Malfoy was to prove Harry wrong, that's all.

It had nothing to do with the lion charm she kept in her pocket, and it had nothing to do with the many remedies that swam through her head whenever she saw Malfoy, desperate to stun him and force life back into his body.

With her spotty logic, Hermione made off with Harry's cloak and map one night. If he ever found out she'll just claim to have had a library emergency that couldn't have waited till morning. Their coursework was quite rigorous this year, after all.

She followed Malfoy for a short time, observing with a frown his sluggish movements and blank face. It wasn't that Malfoy usually burst with emotion-for he certainly didn't-but it was that his calculated poker face that Hermione was so accustomed to had vanished, replaced with a face that couldn't conjure _any emotion_ at all.

It frightened her more than she cared to admit.

He went behind a corner Hermione didn't know existed, and sat on a windowsill. Hermione wordlessly put away Harry's cloak and map, sitting opposite Malfoy. He didn't acknowledge her, choosing to keep his head rested on the cold glass and his eyes shut. Hermione burned to question him, but knew that if she did her words would only be met with hostility and denial.

So she waited, gazing at the broken boy before her as she did so.

"What do you want, Granger?" Malfoy finally drawled, irritation tinting his tone.

Hermione waited for him to make eye contact before speaking."There's something off about you," she said bluntly.

Malfoy let out a feeble snort. "You're not so perfect yourself, Granger."

Hermione's lips thinned. "You know what I mean."

"Why do you even care?" Malfoy suddenly asked, a flicker of his old self in his eyes. "We hate each other, remember?"

 _That's not as definite as you think and we both know it,_ Hermione thought to herself. She chose to treat his questions as rhetorical instead.

"You're becoming inhuman, Malfoy," Hermione whispered, trying not to sound like she was pitying him. "I'm only curious as to how someone so vehement at the beginning of the year can become so…"

"Vapid?" Malfoy supplied, nearly sarcastically.

Hermione nodded, their eye contact having reached an intensity throughout their conversation that neither could ignore. She saw Malfoy grind his back teeth together before he looked away.

Hermione leaned forward and placed her palm on his leg. "Let me help you."

Malfoy scowled, ripping himself away from her. "You know _nothing_ , Granger," he spat. " _Nothing._ "

Hermione jerked her head back at his defensive nature. "That's because you aren't _telling_ me anything."

"You wouldn't understand. You don't know _me_ or my life or my _past-_ "

"If you'd _tell me_ then you wouldn't have to say that, but as it is you need to _communicate_ so that we can get somewhere-"

"Sorry Granger, but I don't wear my heart on my sleeve like a Gryffindor," Malfoy snapped.

"It'd be nice if you let on you had one at all," Hermione countered. "Besides, you're only being hostile as a defense mechanism."

He glared at her. "I am not."

Hermione stared at him a moment, wondering if he was aware he strengthened her point.

"There's something wrong with you. I get that. We both _know_ that," Hermione said, meeting his glare and doubling it. "But for some horrid reason I'm determined to help you, so if you don't want to tell me, fine." Hermione puffed out a breath. "That's not going to stop me trying."

Malfoy snorted. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Hermione pulled out the lion charm and clasped it around her neck. "I'll _be here_ for you."

Malfoy stared at the girl in front of him with a straight face, unable to decide what to do with that information.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

It took a week after that, but Malfoy finally caved and took up Hermione's odd offer to comfort him. He didn't go seeking her out, though.

Hermione had grabbed the map while Harry was reading his potions book, too enamored by the Prince's words to question her. She took it only so that Harry wouldn't glance at it and find her footsteps next to Malfoy's. She was sure she could pass it off as some gratuitous run-in, but she didn't trust Harry not to pester her for every last detail in hopes of finding proof that Malfoy was a Death Eater.

She found Malfoy in one of Hogwart's many abandoned classrooms, having to take down several powerful wards before entering (one of which he had used to disguise the door so it looked as if it were a part of the wall). Hermione was stunned to find Malfoy huddled in a corner, crying. He jumped to his feet the moment he heard the door open, and pointed his wand at Hermione.

They stared at each other in stunned silence, Malfoy breaking it with a wave of his wand as he slammed the door shut and muttered an intricate spell to put back up his wards. He turned to stare at her when he was done, anger shining through his wet eyes.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Malfoy was furious. He had been found at his lowest by a girl that he had been taught was below worthless, a girl that is best mates with that _menace_ that has caused so many problems in his already flawed life. A girl he spent weeks trying to find a gift for, only to have it thrown back into his face.

The _nerve_ of that girl.

Malfoy had fully intended to toss her back out into the hallway and jinx her for trying to turn him into one of her little projects, but his mind had changed halfway through. He hated her, and he hated the way she looked at him in pity and acted as if all would be well if he _simply_ switched to her bloody side. He absolutely _hated_ her.

But at the same time he didn't, seeing his charm hanging delicately around her supposedly filthy neck as she defiantly stood in front of him and demanded that her kindness be accepted. It baffled him that she would even look at him twice, much less _think_ of him.

So he closed the door with Hermione Granger on his side of it in order to find out what possessed this Muggle-born Gryffindor to care for him, a pure-blooded Slytherin who positively, indisputably hated her.

Most of the time.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Hermione resisted the urge to pull out her wand when she saw Malfoy's eyes. She'd never been good at reading people, even her best mates, but she'd have to be completely thick not to see the conflict warring within the pool of grey. Malfoy was still crying, not even bothering to wipe away his tears.

Hermione couldn't help but to think how Malfoy was almost unrecognizable with his emotions stumbling about on his face, adding color to his cheeks and making his normally slicked back hair stick up in random places. It made him less intimidating, in Hermione's opinion, even if his anger was clearly evident.

She was in a daze trying to figure out this new creature before her when Malfoy connected his mouth to hers, his tears dripping off Hermione's chin as they kissed. He placed his hands on either side of her face, his fingertips dipping into her wild mane.

Hermione was fascinated at how his anger seemed to melt away as they snogged, Malfoy acting almost needy as he pressed his lips to hers. He slid his arms down to encase Hermione in a hug as he placed his chin atop her hair.

"I'm not ready yet," Malfoy whispered, and Hermione could feel his voice vibrate, "but I'd like it if you stayed with me."

Hermione stared at the Slytherin crest on his sweater that she was eyelevel with. "Only if you cooperate. Will you tell me something?"

"Not yet," was all Malfoy said. "Not yet."

It took her a moment, but she nodded. Her curiosity chained her to Malfoy, patiently awaiting the day she could sit with him to resolve his problems.

But for Malfoy she already was; Hermione was simply _there_ , and it was her casual existence that soothed his pain and eased his uncontrollable sobs. He didn't know how to voice that, and he didn't even know if he _wanted_ to voice that, but he hoped she understand how tenderly she now tethered him to his sanity.

 **:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)**

 **A/N: Word count: 3,225.**

 **So here's sixth year part one. This fic is going to be short; five chapters most likely. I love the feedback, so please tell me what parts you liked and didn't like! Until next time,**

 **-GG222**


	3. Sixth Year Part Two

**A/N: You guys are making me so happy! I try hard to add a tone that makes it feel "real" so I hope that's coming across well in my writing.**

 ***shameless self-promoting* If you guys want to read something fluffy, try my one-shot** Animagus Troubles **(Dramione, of course).**

 **:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)**

Hermione was livid. Anger licked at her lungs and stunted her breathing. She fought to hide her emotions, a note in her hand turning to ashes as she made her way down the many corridors of Hogwarts. She paced in front of the Room of Requirement, wishing for a quiet place to read in peace.

This, of course, would not occur within the next few hours.

Her nostrils flared when Draco Malfoy met her eyes, having the _nerve_ to smirk at her. He scowled when her fury became apparent.

"What's wrong with you?" Hermione asked bluntly, slamming her hands on the table Malfoy was sitting at.

Malfoy's expression morphed into forced boredom, his furiosity seeping out his eyes to show how he really felt. "You'll have to be more specific. Many people have many different ideas on how to answer that question."

"You haven't been doing your homework," Hermione stated in a deadly whisper.

"That's none of your concern, Granger," Malfoy drawled, leaning back in his chair with defiant apathy.

"McGonagall had you in _detention_ for not doing your assignments," Hermione said acidly.

Malfoy clapped slowly; _mockingly_. "Ten points for Gryffindor."

"Do you not care about your future?" Hermione was now slowly descending on Malfoy, her words being bitten as she spit them out her mouth. "Don't you want to better yourself?"

"I have more important things to do than Transfiguration, thanks."

Their noses were nearly touching " _Answer the question_."

"I do care about my future," Malfoy said, his eyes piercing Hermione's skin. "Whether or not I turn in an assignment has nothing to _do_ with my future."

Hermione pressed her lips together as she slammed her bookbag onto the table, finally backing away. "You may not think so, but I do. You're still doing your work."

Malfoy scoffed. "You can't make me."

"Want to bet?" Hermione asked in a sweet voice. "No more snogging."

Malfoy's face dropped. Hermione spoke before he could complain.

"Now," she said with a nod to the bookbag at his feet, "get to it."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Hermione had already finished all her homework for the next week, and thus wasn't devoting her every thought to her Herbology report. She couldn't stop thinking of Harry trying to convince McGonagall that Malfoy had cursed Katie Bell. He wasn't even _in Hogsmeade_ , and Harry still thought the blame was on Malfoy. Hermione was going to have to hold an intervention if things continued like this.

Harry was being injudicious and, frankly, prejudiced.

Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater, but Hermione didn't see how that made Draco one. Bartemius Crouch and his son are a shining example of how one can be extremely different from their family.

However.

Hermione was not an idiot. Harry's half-baked ideas would not be impacting her so if she didn't spend the time she did with Malfoy. He is in emotional pain from the constant fighting he is enduring from _Merlin_ knows what.

She pondered the possibilities as she watched Malfoy fill out his assignments, knowing full well that he was trying as little as he could. She would fix that later.

Hermione chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying her best to sound casual when she spoke. "Something odd happened when I went to Hogsmeade the other day."

"Oh?" Malfoy said, and Hermione wouldn't have noticed him flinch if she weren't staring intently at him from under her lashes.

"Katie Bell was cursed." Hermione paused to gauge his reaction. "By a necklace."

"Sounds terrible," Draco replied quietly, staring blankly at the book he had placed in front of him.

Hermione frowned at what her gut was telling her. "Yes. It is."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Their study sessions were a roaring success.

In Hermione's opinion.

In Draco's opinion, they were a nuisance that not only kept him from doing his mission, but kept him from the only thing that effectively distracted him from it; Granger.

He didn't know how addicted he was to their purposely vague conversations until it was gone. He wanted to hold her, complain about Filch and try to make her laugh.

Snogging would be nice, too. He was going through withdrawls, for Salazar's sake.

It was a good thing, then, that Draco Malfoy was a manipulative prat who knew how to take almost any situation and twist it to his advantage. He had been watching Hermione finger her necklace as she tried to hide the hurt expression on her face, the parchment under her quill utterly blank.

Malfoy had a scare, thinking for a minute that she was angry at him again.

"What's got your wand in a twist?" he asked suddenly, not being able to handle it anymore.

Hermione, to Malfoy's horror, looked down meekly and shook her head. "Nothing."

"No," he said sternly. "One more chance before I look into your mind myself."

Her head shot up. "You wouldn't."

"I would," Malfoy said, eyes sliding into slits.

Hermione sighed, weaving the end of her quill between her fingers. "I don't know."

"Hey," Malfoy said as he moved to sit next to Hermione, hand firmly over hers. "You've been here for me. Let me return the favor."

And so she explained everything, Malfoy slowly inching her way until she was in his arms and his mutterings in her ear.

"Hermione," he said gently, startling her with the use of her first name. "He doesn't deserve you."

"But Ron is my friend," she said delicately.

"That means nothing," Malfoy said harshly. "You may be his, but is he yours?"

Hermione looked down at her hands. "He's just having a bad week, I'm sure it's-"

"Don't defend him," Malfoy said, giving her a gentle shake. "He's being irrational and stupid. You're so much more than how he treats you."

Hermione scoffed in a vain attempt at appearing nonchalant. "You've said worse."

"That's before I knew you." Draco paused. "And I'm sorry for that. Besides, he's supposed to be your _friend_."

He panicked when she started crying, wanting desperately to kill Weasley.

"You're right," Hermione sobbed. "That's why it hurts so much."

Malfoy spent the next hour running his fingers through Hermione's hair whilst plotting the ginger's downfall, his high from her touch being crushed by the state of her self-confidence and happiness, which were deplorable.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

"You shot _what_ at him?" Malfoy asked, delighted.

Hermione sniffed, smirking despite her tears. "Canaries."

Malfoy roared with laughter. "Brilliant." A thought seemed to strike him as he watched her sullen movements, and he sobered considerably. "Are you alright, Granger?"

Hermione stared at Malfoy a moment before shaking her head from side to side. "Being unexpectedly rude and coarse is one thing, but now he's just being cruel and uncaring."

Draco wrapped his arms around her, letting her face bury itself into his shoulder.

"I'll hex him for you," he offered.

"That won't make me feel better," Hermione argued.

Malfoy tightened his grip on her. "But it'll make me."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

It was in Transfiguration that the final straw was broken for Malfoy. He had agreed not to interfere, but Malfoy knew Hermione would never find out. Weasley wouldn't dare tell. The imbecilic ginger had pushed Granger to the verge of tears, taunting her and mimicking her excitement for the correct answer every time McGonagall asked a question.

All because she _laughed_ along with everyone else when Weasley gave himself a mustache instead of coloring his eyebrow like he was supposed to.

Potter was lucky that he followed Hermione when she ran out of the classroom, leaving the chuckling ginger to Draco's wrath. Malfoy waited until Ron was alone, deserted in the corridor.

"Good one, Weasley," Draco said with forced enthusiasm as he slapped him on the back.

Ron narrowed his eyes. "What are you on about, Ferret?"

Malfoy laughed like they were best mates, frightening Weasley. "Your jokes back in the Transfiguration classroom! You do a _great_ impersonation of Granger."

Ron was suddenly angry. "What are you getting-"

"We should swap notes," Malfoy said cheerfully, cutting him off. "I never thought to _befriend_ her and let the betrayal sting even more than the actual taunting. Genius."

Malfoy smiled at a sickly looking Ron before heading down to the dungeons, deciding internally that a few _minor_ hexes over the next few weeks wouldn't be that detectable.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Luna Lovegood went into the girl's lavatory the moment she saw Hermione sprint inside with her hands attempting to strangle the tears running down her cheeks.

"Are you ready to tell me now?" asked Luna when she crouched beside Hermione and offered her a tissue she transfigured from a quill.

Hermione sighed. "It's Ron."

Luna stared at her in silent contemplation. "Ron can be terribly mean. If you're willing to forgive him, I think you two can still be friends."

"Thanks Luna," Hermione whispered, wiping her eyes.

"But that's not what I was asking."

Hermione looked at Luna, confused. "I don't understand."

"Ron isn't the boy you were talking to the nargles about," she stated matter-of-factly. "But it's okay if you don't feel comfortable telling me."

Luna reached out and hugged Hermione, melting the last of her reserve. She was one of her only female friends, after all. It would be weird _not_ to tell someone as insightful as Luna.

"The boy that I, um, talked to the nargles about," Hermione said carefully, "makes me feel great. But I don't know what we're doing with each other. Harry wouldn't approve."

"I do," Luna said gently.

"You don't even know who it is," Hermione said with disdain. "You wouldn't if you knew."

"I know that he makes you happy," Luna said in a whisper. "And I know that happiness is going to become endangered very soon. Keep him close; you'll need all that you can get."

Hermione was dazed as Luna guided her out of the bathroom, and her heart warmed when she saw Harry awkwardly looking around the corridor, her bag in his hand.

Ron would come around, but until then she could manage without him.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

"Oi!" Malfoy yelled down the empty hallway at Potter, his eyes burning from what he'd witnessed in the Great Hall. "Finally ditch that filth?"

"What are you on about, Malfoy?" Potter asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Are you quarantining her, is that it? Granger, I mean. I feel I have a right to know if she's infectious," Malfoy spat.

Potter clenched his jaw. "Why don't you mind your own business," he said more than asked as he turned to leave.

"I thought you were supposed to be best mates," Malfoy said dryly. "She looked bloody upset. What'd you say to her, Potter? I doubt even I could do worse."

Draco took great pleasure in the way the guilt radiated off of Harry as he scurried down the hallway.

 _Serves him right_ , Malfoy thought. He couldn't stand to sit and watch Hermione eat another meal alone. He'd go mental.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

The Slytherin Common Room gave Draco Malfoy a headache. He saw Pansy begging Blaise to bring her to Slughorn's party, and was about to run up the stairs to his dormitory when he heard her mention Granger.

"C'mon Blaise! You can't go alone!" Pansy wailed. "Even _Granger_ has a date!"

"I'm not going alone, Pansy, I'm just not going with you," Blaise said smoothly.

"Granger has a date?" Draco asked with disbelief. "Who, Longbottom?"

"No," said Pansy with a sulk. "McLaggen. He's high up on the Gryffindor food chain, too. He's going around telling people they're dating-like _she's_ the catch! I swear she slipped him something."

"Or he's a blood-traitor with good taste," said Blaise dryly.

Draco waited until he was in his empty dormitory to look outraged. He was going to have to talk to Hermione.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Malfoy had previously planned to work on the cabinet during the party, and so he did, but he left early enough to find Hermione before McLaggen could drag her off somewhere.

Filch, however, found him first.

He could _smell_ the joy radiating off of Potter when he saw Filch bring him in, humiliating him. Draco's eyes covertly scanned the crowd, finding Hermione staring at him with a confused expression. Malfoy was momentarily relieved that McLaggen was nowhere to be found around her person, but little did Malfoy know that his sudden appearance made Hermione let down her guard.

Cormac arrogantly swooped down upon Hermione, throwing an arm around her shoulder and sloppily kissing her cheek. Hermione cringed, trying to wiggle away.

Malfoy wondered how well he could cover up sending an _Avada Kedavra_ in Cormac's direction.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

To escape Cormac's grasp, Hermione had to lie about having chronic diarrhea. It took her a while to think of how to execute her plan, but she finally decided on faking stomach pain for twenty minutes until she told her excuse and sprinted out of Slughorn's office.

She barely caught sight of Malfoy's hair briskly walking around the corner. Hermione was about to follow, but Snape's presence caught her off guard.

"Professor," Hermione muttered as he walked passed her and back into Slughorn's party.

"Miss Granger," Snape said, eyeing her hesitation. "Did you forget which way the Gryffindor dormitories were?"

"No, Professor," Hermione said, slightly frustrated, as she began walking the opposite direction that Malfoy went. She counted to thirty before she dared turn around and start after Malfoy.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Harry Potter was in a pickle. His mind was still racing from all the new information he had gained from Snape and Malfoy's conversation, yet something as equally controversial happened right before his eyes.

Hermione was running after Malfoy.

Still under the protection of the cloak, Harry inched his way forward. He was surprised to find that when he turned the corner, they were gone.

Being the protective friend he was, Harry pulled out his map and saw their footsteps ( _suspiciously close_ , he thought) in a broom cupboard.

Harry leaned against the opposite wall and waited, knowing that Hermione could take care of herself but resisting the urge to barge in on them anyway.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Hermione had to sprint to catch up to Malfoy, cursing his long legs. He wheeled around when he heard her footsteps, grabbing her wrist and catapulting them both into the nearest broom cupboard.

Malfoy watched Hermione's mouth as she talked. "Draco, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, noticing the look of frustration and anger in his eyes.

He growled, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "Are you dating McLaggen?"

"What?" Hermione asked, fully expecting to hear something about why he was looking so sickly.

Malfoy's jaw clenched. "You heard me."

"So what if I am?" Hermione was startled at her own response, only saying it because of how offended she was at his tone.

Malfoy spoke through his teeth. "You can't date McLaggen anymore."

Hermione bristled. "Oh, I can't?"

"No," he said, his nose dangerously close to hers.

"Whyever not?"

"Is it not obvious?" Malfoy asked in disbelief, anger making him sound accusing. "You're _mine._ "

Hermione shoved at his chest. "I am _no one's_ anything."

"That's a lie and you know it," Malfoy spat. "You're mine, Granger."

"You don't own me," said an appalled Hermione, reaching for the door and tumbling out. Malfoy followed closely behind, grabbing her arm to root her in place.

"Granger you don't understand-"

"I think I understand well enough, Malfoy," Hermione spat. "You just don't like to share."

Malfoy was starting to get very angry at her inability to comprehend what he was saying. "Hermione-"

"Let go of me," Hermione hissed, trying to shake Malfoy's iron grip.

Malfoy now had a hand on each arm. " _Hermione_ -"

She freed her right hand and promptly slapped Malfoy across the face.

Their ragged breathing punctured the silence that ensued. Malfoy growled low in his throat, making Hermione's insides flutter despite her mind telling her to _shove this tosser and get lost_.

Hermione couldn't do that, however, because Malfoy had shoved her against the wall and moved his mouth to her ear.

"When I said that you were mine," Malfoy breathed, "I thought it was implied that I was also yours."

Hermione's nostrils flared. "How was _anyone_ supposed to work _that_ out?"

"Granger," Malfoy said, moving his head back to look her in the eye. "Don't you get it? I'm in love with you."

A tingle erupted down Hermione's spine, and her chin twitched dumbly. "You do?"

Malfoy let out a short laugh. "You stupid, brilliant witch."

And then Draco leaned towards Hermione, his lips still smiling when they connected with hers.

(Harry Potter, the boy who is constantly caught in awkward situations, shuffled away at this point, and was troubled that night with images of what he had witnessed).

"In case you haven't figured it out yet, I love you too," Hermione said, smirking. "Ferret Boy."

Malfoy scowled despite his heart swelling from Hermione's words. "Don't call me that."

"Ferret," Hermione said slowly, looking him right in the eye. "Boy."

Draco's tongue ran across his bottom lip before he bit Hermione's, his throat releasing an animalistic sound.

Hermione pulled her mouth away from Malfoy's and harshly re-applied it to his jawline, starting just below his ear and nibbling his way down, eliciting a deep moan that she felt on her lips.

Thoughts collided and fell upon each other in Malfoy's head, one standing out against the rest. _She loves me,_ he thought, feeling elated. The Dark Lord rudely popped into his head then, snarling at his inadequacy.

"I'm so sorry," Malfoy mumbled so lowly Hermione couldn't hear, "for what I have to do."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

Harry chewed on the inside of his lip, confusing Hermione with his oddly despondent behavior.

"What?" Hermione asked, wiping at her face. "Why're you staring at me?"

Harry drew his eyebrows together and blew out a heavy breath. "I need to talk to you when we get back from break." He paused, looking back at Ron, who had just entered the Great Hall. "Alone."

Trepidation grabbed at Hermione's heart and filled her lungs. "Sure Harry," she said in a weak voice. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," Harry muttered back, his face turning to stone when Malfoy came through the doors. Hermione knew then, from the deepest part of her being, that she was thoroughly screwed.

 **:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)**

 **A/N: Word Count: 3,031.**

 **So there's that. Hope you guys like it! Next chapter will be the last one of sixth year, I think. And there'll probably be two or three for seven. One for after war. So four to five more chapters? Possibly? Sorry I'm so vague. Until next time,**

 **-GG222**


	4. Sixth Year Part Three

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry about the wait. I've been pretty busy lately, but that's life.** **¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **P. S. There's an extra 1,000 words than I usually post to make up for the wait.**

 **P. P. S. Some could say that it gets a tad heated in this chapter (towards the end). Don't read if it's not your cup of tea.**

 **:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)**

Hermione was ready to tear her hair out. What did Harry know? What had he _seen?_

"Merlin," she mumbled to herself, her fingers twisting through her curls. Her anxiety was eating away at her sanity. "Oh _Merlin_."

A taunting voice stopped Hermione in her tracks. "Talking to yourself again, Granger?"

The corner of Hermione's mouth lifted before she turned around. Her eyes darted over Draco's face, soaking in his presence and simultaneously trying to hide her uneaseiness. "Did you have a happy Christmas?"

Malfoy, despite his best efforts, contorted his face into a look of disgust. "I had a splendid time, really. Just loved sharing a bed with the Dark Lord."

Hermione swallowed thickly, her smile crumbling under the looming threat of war. "I'm sorry-"

"No, I'm sorry," Draco said quickly, stepping away from the door and into the Room of Requirement. "I shouldn't have-"

"It's alright," Hermione said as she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. "Really."

Malfoy managed a weak smile before his trademark smirk resurfaced. "Care to reveal why you were talking to that bookshelf over there?"

"Oh," Hermione said, averting her eyes and unsuccessfully attempting to untangle herself from Malfoy. "Right. About that-"

Draco laid one hand firmly against the flat of her back and cupped her face with the other. "Granger," he said in a deceptively sweet voice. "Get to the point."

Hermione took a deep breath. "I think Harry knows."

Malfoy looked off into the distance a moment before snapping back to look Hermione in the eyes. "Let's hold an intervention then, shall we?"

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Ginny slipped Harry a note in the Common Room and, being too distracted as he thought of how warm Ginny's fingers were when she pressed the parchment into his palm, he didn't think much of what it meant. That was why, when Hermione's note suggested that Harry should go see the new shipment of quidditch books at the library, he was not expecting to get ambushed by Draco Malfoy on the third floor. Furthermore, he was not expecting Hermione to wordlessly levitate him into the nearest classroom as Malfoy set up a series of intricate wards.

Needless to say, he was feeling quite like a child whose own mother stole his candy.

Hermione took Harry's wand before performing the counter-curse to relieve the stiffness in his body, Malfoy having retreated into the back corner.

"What the actual _hell_ Hermione?!" Harry yelled, shooting up from the ground and nearly popping all the veins in his forehead. Harry jerkily composed himself, furiously rubbing at his neck in a vain attempt to get rid of a smidge of his anger.

"You said you wanted to talk when we got back!"

"Yeah," Harry said, eyes darting to Malfoy. " _Alone_."

Hermione chewed on the inside of her cheek, dreading what she must talk about. She braced herself and decided to get it over with. "I know you know."

"What?" Harry said unbelievably. "I don't know anything."

Draco scoffed. "Can I have that on, what's it called Granger? A record? Some tape?"

Hermione, smartly, chose to ignore Draco. "If you didn't know then you would've asked why Malfoy's here."

Harry clenched his jaw and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Fine. I know."

Hermione's shoulders slumped the slightest. She wanted to ask a plethora of questions: _How did you find out? Are you going to tell Ron? Do you hate me?_ But her mouth was so dry she could barely swallow.

"Can I have my wand back?" Harry asked.

Hermione, in a daze, went to give it to him but jerked her hand back at the last moment, Draco's shuffling in the corner alerting her to his presence. "You're not going to jinx him?"

Harry sighed. "No." Hermione passed it over, not relaxing until he'd put it away. Harry looked at Hermione with a pained expression on his face and whispered, "You know he's just using you, right?"

It was utterly terrifying, in Hermione's point of view, that Malfoy became more enraged than she was, for she was thoroughly pissed.

"Do you not trust me?" Hermione said in a controlled voice as Draco took long, purposeful strides to attach himself to Hermione's hip.

Harry glared at the way Malfoy held Hermione. "I trust your mind. Your heart-" Harry paused to lock eyes with Malfoy. "-not so much."

"You make every decision with your heart, Harry," Hermione said softly. "Isn't that a bit hypocritical?"

"I never snogged Parkinson and then lied to everyone about it," Harry retorted.

Hermione gave him a look. "I never lied to you."

"You didn't tell me," Harry said, hurt. "That's like lying. I thought we were friends."

Hermione opened her mouth, but it wasn't her voice that filled the air. "Who is it, again, that has been treating Hermione like a pariah for months now? Oh, right-her supposed best mates."

Harry stepped towards Draco. "You don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy."

"Oh, I don't?" Malfoy said joyfully. " _Your_ inadequacy has made an emotional wreck out of the Brightest Witch of Our Age. What the bloody hell goes through your mind when you gang up on her?"

Harry gaped at him. "You've tortured her for _years_ -"

"I apologized," Malfoy bellowed loudly. "Have you?"

Harry was starting to turn red. Hermione jumped in before he could retort. "Stop it," she said. "Both of you. Just _stop_ it!"

Hermione detached herself from Malfoy and paced a few steps, running her hands through her hair. "Harry, I don't care if you disapprove. You can disapprove all you want, for that matter, but he makes me _happy_."

"What about Ron?" Harry asked after a moment of deliberation.

"I'll tell him once he's done being a prat," Hermione said, offering a small smile. "Will you promise to keep this a secret?" Hermione stared into his eyes. "Please?" She grabbed his hand. "For me?"

Harry rolled his eyes and thought about it a moment. "If you let me talk to him-" He nodded his head at Malfoy. "-alone."

Hermione looked to Draco. He nodded, and Hermione grimaced.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Harry paced in front of Malfoy, choosing his words carefully. He was so irritated at his current situation-at the sense of helplessness that overcame him.

"She's my best mate," he finally said, halting all movement and staring Malfoy in the eyes. "If you do _anything_ -" Harry cut himself off, closing his eyes tight. He ripped them open and continued. "I'll bloody skin you alive. The muggle way."

Malfoy nodded, swallowing his pride for Hermione. "I would never disrespect her."

"I know you wouldn't," Harry said acidly. "I saw the way you held her. I'm talking about what you're planning." Harry let all of his hatred pour onto Malfoy through his eyes. "You're going to crush her."

Malfoy swallowed thickly. "You think I don't know that?" His voice was hoarse and _broken_ and something Harry never thought he'd hear coming out of Malfoy's mouth. "You think that I'd willingingly let myself be distracted-by bloody _Granger,_ of all people-when I could devote every ounce of my strength into my mission?"

Harry stared at him. "Dumbledore could protect you."

Draco scoffed rudely. "It's not _me_ that needs protection." His breathing was ragged. " _He_ 'll kill my mother, Potter. I can't let him kill my mother."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

Hermione was having a hard time restraining herself. She stared at the wall in front of her; her morals and her need to _know_ warred against each other in her brain. She knew that neither Harry nor Draco would tell her what they discussed in that room. Hermione had just decided to eavesdrop when the door opened and Draco sauntered out, giving a bitter smile to Hermione before heading to the dungeons.

"Well," Harry said as he released a heavy sigh. "That was hell."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

Hermione thought she was going to explode. The urge to pester Harry for information was strong, and Hermione was running out of ways to slyly suggest that he give her what she wanted in a civilized manner. She was planning on hinting at it again, sighing internally as she remembered how terrible Harry was at picking up hints.

She opened her mouth when he came into the Gryffindor Common Room, about to suggest a friendly trip to the library, but stopped her words from falling out her mouth at the expression on his face. It was then that she noticed the urgency of his movements and his unchanged clothing.

"C'mon," he said a tad breathlessly. "Ron's in the infirmary."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

Hermione did not appreciate Ron's subconscious interest in her. When she told Draco about it, he asked if he was moaning out of pleasure or longing and laughed as Hermione beat him with her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_. Hermione asked him why he wasn't concerned, and he looked at her with a certain brand of swagger in his eye and said, "Weasley doesn't have a chance."

Hermione liked speaking with Ron again, but his pained voice haunted her dreams. _Er-my-nee,_ her mind whispered. _Er-MY-nee._ She wondered if Ron was aware of his unwanted infatuation, or if it was simply rooted in the back of his head. She certainly didn't want it to become unhinged anytime soon.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry's regular banter had a few clouds looming over their heads, only one known to Ron (Lavender's dislike of Hermione). Malfoy was putting a strain on their relationship, and Hermione knew that she would have to tell Ron soon. She decided to wait until after he'd broken up with Lavender in fear that he would hang on to _Lav-Lav_ out of spite.

Hermione thought about this as she watched Ron complete his DADA essay, his eyes darting over in her direction every once in awhile.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

Hermione felt the _Muffliato_ charm engulf her, and her lip turned upwards at Harry's use of the Prince's homemade spellwork.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked without looking up from her parchment. Hermione could see him shuffling from the corner of her eye.

"Since we've figured out that it's the Room of Requirement that Malfoy goes to, I've just been wondering how, um," Harry stuttered a bit through his embarrassment. Hermione looked up from her schoolwork.

"Yes?" she said, already knowing what he was going to say.

"How much time do you and Malfoy spent together? In the Room of Requirement? Do you know what else he does in there, because I've noticed he spends a lot of time in there without you," Harry said in a rush, not wanting to lose his nerve.

Hermione sighed. "I don't know what he's doing, Harry."

Harry paused a moment. He spoke tentatively. "But you admit that he's doing something, then?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "He has to be." Hermione suddenly thought of something. "Harry? You do know that he's not doing this freely, right?"

"Everyone has a choice, Hermione," Harry said sadly.

"That's the thing," Hermione said. "I don't think he does."

Harry bit his lip, his eyebrows coming together as a new train of thought entered his mind. "Does he ever wear his sleeves up around you?"

Hermione looked down at her parchment and frowned. "No."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

Hermione felt as if she were in a constant state of internal screaming. She hadn't seen Draco's left arm the entire school year, and she'd been too preoccupied to notice how wrong that was. Hermione jumped when the door opened, and she gave Malfoy a shy smile. She was not proud of what she was about to do (act like a manipulative Slytherin, for Merlin's sake), but she knew that it must be done.

"Good evening, Draco," Hermione said slowly, and she tried not to cringe at the tone of her voice.

"Good evening, _Hermione_ ," Draco mocked back. He threw himself onto the couch beside her, his arm flung over her shoulders. Hermione's heart pounded.

"Draco," she said sweetly as she rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him from her half-lidded eyes. Her fingertips danced over his thigh, trailing slowly and deliberately.

Malfoy coughed, and Hermione had to resist smirking when she felt him go rigid. "Yes?"

"I'm bored, Draco," Hermione breathed, letting her palm lay flat on Malfoy's upper thigh. He swallowed thickly.

"What do you want to do, love?" he asked softly. Hermione allowed a sly grin to grace her face-she leaned back so that Draco would see it.

"Oh," Hermione said with a sigh. She stood up, saw Malfoy deflate, and then stared him in the eye as she sat back down again, this time on his lap with one leg on either side of him. "What would you suggest?"

Malfoy made a choking sound in the back of his throat as Hermione ran her fingers through his hair. "Hermione Granger, I'll do whatever you want," said Malfoy with gravel in his throat.

Hermione pressed herself closer to Draco, his groan nearly making her forget what she was doing in the first place. She pressed her lips to his temple and whispered, "Anything?"

Malfoy, suddenly remembering that he had hands, ran them up Hermione's back from underneath her shirt. She arched into his touch, her lips brushing over his.

" _Anything_ ," Malfoy said with a sinful grin, his tongue darting out as he connected their mouths. Hermione, finding him thoroughly distracted, started undoing the buttons of his shirt. She slid her hands over his shoulder blades and let her fingernails gently scrape down his back. Malfoy started rotating his pelvis, his hands on Hermione's hips.

Hermione's body froze as her eyelids fluttered, and suddenly she was undoing the buttons on her _own_ shirt, feeling heat take over her body unexpectedly. Malfoy groaned as his eyes lazily roamed over her body, watching as her shirt fell to the floor.

Malfoy let out a ragged breath and picked up Hermione, laying her so that she was flat on her back on the couch. Hermione grabbed him by the tie and pulled his face to hers, tossing it to the side as she finished undoing his shirt. It slid off his shoulders and pooled around his wrists, but the lights were dimmed before Hermione could see his forearm. She heard Draco mutter something.

Hermione, stunned, willed the lights back on after her shock wore off. "I want to see, darling," she muttered. Her eyebrows came together at the wand in Malfoy's hand. She nodded her head to it, silently demanding an explanation.

"Contraception charm," Malfoy said smoothly, letting his shirt fall off to reveal his unmarked arm. Hermione watched Draco as he performed the spell on her, and sighed as she reasoned that a Glamour Charm had been placed on his arm during those few moments spent in the dark.

 _Harry is going to be so pissed_ , Hermione thought sullenly. She sat up from under Malfoy, her worried face meaning something entirely different to him.

"Oh, I didn't mean to-uh," Malfoy spluttered. "Sorry. Are you okay with this?"

Hermione looked at him a moment, studied his earnest expression and saw how tired his eyes were. Her smile was sad as she wondered how they could possibly stay together on different sides of a war.

"Slowly," she whispered, reaching out to run her fingers over his left forearm, "and you don't have to cover that up."

Draco stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. He caught his tongue between his teeth and let out a dry chuckle. "I don't know why I thought I could fool you."

He took off the Glamour Charm with a swipe of his wand. He stood up heavily, picking up his shirt from the ground. Hermione wrapped her arms around him from behind, ceasing his movements.

"The war doesn't have to begin tonight," Hermione muttered. She willed a bed to appear in the room and led Draco to it.

They laid next to each other all night, Draco occasionally running his fingers through Hermione's hair as she muttered stories to him. Malfoy, for the first time in months, slept for more than four hours that night.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

There was tension in the air everywhere that Hermione went. She couldn't avoid it; it crept up her back and imbedded itself into Hermione's pores. She was drowning in it.

She tried to focus on helping Harry as he took a mouthful of Felix Felicis. It was honestly quite confusing, as Harry was convinced that going to Hagrid's for Aragog's funeral was going to get him the memory. Hermione and Ron couldn't stop him, for Lavender had started to throw a fit as she caught the three of them-Harry being under the invisibility cloak-coming down from the boy's dormitories.

Hermione groaned and averted her eyes, trying not to get involved as Ron and Lavender quarrelled. To make matters worse, Ginny and Dean had started up a row coming through the portrait hole. Hermione looked around the common room and sighed, desperately wanting to escape but knowing that staying as still as possible was the best thing to do in this situation.

An hour later, both couples were split up and Hermione had decided to take Ron down to the kitchens for a cup of tea. He was smiling like an idiot, and Hermione was debating telling Ron about Malfoy so that any ounce of hope he had was crushed. She could still hear him: _Er-my-nee_.

Hermione's face scrunched up within her tea cup.

"What's the special occasion?" Ron asked as he held a biscuit in the air. His smile was large, becoming slightly deflated at Hermione's weak attempt at a smile.

"Ron," Hermione said heavily. "You're going to have to promise me that you won't get mad."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Ron got mad. He got undeniably, unbelievably mad. Hermione, however, wouldn't let him leave the kitchens until he'd promised not to tell anyone. His face softened considerably after his insults brought her to tears, and he whispered, "It'll take time, Hermione, but we'll be friends again."

It hurt like hell, having a row with Ron so soon after their freshly mended friendship, but Hermione knew that he would be hurt even more if she kept the secret from him for any longer.

It took a good half-hour for Hermione to compose herself before they could leave the kitchens. On their way back up to the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione was making pitiful attempts at conversation.

"I can take another look at your nonverbal spellwork, if you want," Hermione said quietly.

"Maybe," Ron said tightly. Malfoy had just turned the corner, his eyes watery underneath his poorly concealed glamour charm. The three teenagers stopped to look at each other in the hallway, and Hermione had to grab Ron's wand out of his hand to stop him from using it.

"I take it, then, that he knows?" Malfoy asked dryly. Ron scowled, turning to Hermione.

"I need to talk to him a minute," Ron growled.

Draco laughed. "Just like Scar-Head. Alright then, let's get on with it."

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Hermione waited outside the broom cupboard, tapping her wand against her thigh as she fiddled with Ron and Draco's wands in her other hand. This whole "protective brother" charade was getting out of control. Hermione could protect herself, for Merlin's sake! She didn't need Harry and Ron threatening Draco into submission.

The door slammed open with unnecessary force, and Hermione was glad that she'd already shot several silencing charms down the corridor. Draco locked eyes with Hermione immediately, walked over to her and roughly pressed his lips to hers.

" _Draco_ , you _can't_ just-"

"I'll be in the Room," Malfoy said to Hermione, although he and Ron were staring heatedly at each other. He smirked smugly at Ron before sauntering off, ignoring Hermione's glare as he took his wand out of her hand.

"That _arse_ ," Ron said after Hermione handed him his wand back, having waited for Malfoy to get out of sight. "I can't believe you're dating that _arse_!"

Ron had started to storm off. "I'll be up in a minute Ron, I've got to deal with-"

"Oh, you two take as long as you need," Ron said sourly, his lip curling in disgust.

Hermione sighed.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

"You arrogant, _inconsiderate_ , deplorable _arse_!" Hermione shouted. "Ron is my friend; you can't egg him on like that! I don't care what he said to you in that cupboard-you're supposed to reassure him that your intentions are pure."

Malfoy simply stared at Hermione as she scolded him, straight-faced and on the verge of yawning. This only intensified Hermione's anger.

"Are you even _capable_ of remorse?"

Draco smirked. "I am only remorseful, dear, that you didn't give me the opportunity to shove my tongue down your throat in front of Weasley."

Hermione flared her nostrils. "When you're ready to be mature about this, you can apologize to Ron."

"What?" Malfoy barked, emotion suddenly finding its way onto his face. "Why should I apologize to _him_?"

"If you don't apologize to _Ron_ , I'm not forgiving _you_ ," Hermione said, slamming the door to the Room of Requirement with tears in her eyes.

Hermione was nearly to Gryffindor Tower when Malfoy yanked her back by the arm and pinned her to the wall.

" _Malfoy_ ," Hermione hissed through clenched teeth. "Let _go_ of me."

"No," Malfoy spat. "I _love you_ , Granger. I refuse to fight over that git."

"You've agreed to apologize, then?" Hermione asked with unnecessary venom in her tone.

Malfoy ground his back teeth together. "There's nothing to apologize _for_ , Hermione. He's got to know his place."

Hermione jerked away from him. "His _place_?"

"I didn't _mean it_ like that, and you know it!"

Hermione shook her head at him. "I thought you had changed."

"I _have_ , Hermione-"

"Goodbye, Draco," Hermione said, her heart shattering when she turned the corner.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

"Hermione," Harry whispered. "You've got to eat."

Hermione, after bursting into tears at Ron's snide remark the previous night, had explained to Ron (who had explained to Harry) that she and Draco had split. Harry and Ron were, of course, overjoyed at this news-at first. They weren't so happy-three days later-now that they've realized Hermione wasn't going to be her normal self anytime soon.

"I'm not hungry," she said, staring at her book. She'd been looking at the same page since she'd sat down. Harry wondered if she could see the book at all.

Ron looked at her with a pained expression. "Me and Harry could talk to him, if you'd like-"

"No, Ronald," Hermione said sternly, finally looking up from her book. "Just leave it alone."

Ron and Harry looked at each other, sharing a desperate and worried look. Hermione had been distant and hostile-the only information that Harry and Ron could get from her about the breakup was that it had happened. They were left completely in the dark, and Harry didn't want to admit it out loud, but he almost wished that Hermione and Malfoy were still together.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

Harry was determined to fix things. He didn't dare ask Hermione for permission, so when Malfoy's dot appeared on the Marauder's Map next to Moaning Myrtle's in the boy's bathroom below him, he nearly sprinted to it.

Malfoy's weeping caught him off guard, however, and he failed to demand the two things he needed from him: what was he doing in the Room of Requirement, and what had he done to Hermione?

Instead the bathroom was turned into a battleground, ending in the Prince's hex slicing open Malfoy's chest and face.

:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):

Harry, after evading Snape and hiding the Prince's book, found Hermione, Ron, and Ginny in the Common Room. They stood up at the sight of him, covered in water and blood.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, emotion finally flooding her features.

Harry whispered so that only she could hear. "I'm so sorry."

Hermione covered her mouth as Harry recounted the tale. Her hand shook, and fire erupted in her eyes. She looked as if she were going to speak, but Ginny's presence stopped her.

She tried to compose herself, let on to Ginny that she was concerned for Harry-not Malfoy-but she couldn't help herself. "Is Malfoy alright?"

Ginny looked at Hermione funny. "You're worried about Malfoy? From the sound of it, he tried to use an Unforgivable-"

"If he's hurt badly," Hermione interrupted, lying through her teeth, "then Harry is in a lot more trouble, isn't he?"

Harry looked at Hermione. "There was a lot of blood, but Snape cleaned him up nicely."

Hermione stared at a point on the ground, and waited until she could excuse herself without Ginny getting too suspicious. Harry watched Hermione leave, giving her a tiny nod as she stood at the foot of the boy's dormitories.

The least he could do was lend her his cloak.

 **:(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):(:):**

 **A/N: Word Count: 4,150. So the next chapter will probably be half sixth year, half seventh year (or pre-battle of Hogwarts). Another chapter for during the battle, and one for after the battle (or those might blend together). It's up for interpretation, at this point. I can't see this fic getting past eight chapters, though. Until next time,**

 **-GG222**


	5. End of Sixth Year

**A/N: What has it been, five months? I've no valid excuse (except my mental health rollercoaster, but I won't bore you with those details).**

 **Draco and Hermione were fighting about Ron for one reason; this fighting/break-up helps Ron and Harry to see just how valid the relationship is. Later on, they will support Draco and Hermione more (tolerate, I suppose is a better word).**

 **I hope you like this chapter. Review to tell me if you did! A simple ":)" makes my day.**

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Hermione was choking on her sorrow, praising Merlin for silencing charms as she ran down the hallway. She fisted Harry's cloak in her hands, terrified of it slipping. Occasionally she wiped her tears away with it.

She forgot to be gentle with the door when she got to the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey came running out of her office. She stopped when she saw no one there, frowning. Hermione was frozen in fear, but thawed her hand out so she could send a _confundus_ Pomfrey's way.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head and complained about the drafty, old castle as she stiffly walked back to her office. Hermione put up silencing charms, and closed the curtains around Malfoy's bed, sighing in relief.

Malfoy was propped up by his elbows, glaring into the darkness. His voice was scratchy and taunt. "Who's there?"

Hermione shed Harry's cloak, sniffling when she saw the bandages across his chest. Malfoy's features softened, and he ran a hand through his hair. "Oh," he muttered. Hermione held Harry's cloak in a bundle across her upper body like she would a textbook. She couldn't stop looking at the bandages.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her body tilting forward as if she wanted to be closer but couldn't will her feet to move. Malfoy patted the space beside him and tried to sit up, his face becoming pained with the effort.

"No!" Hermione said, gently pushing him to remain flat on the bed. "I'll come to you."

She laid down next to him, her nose an inch away from his. Draco's hand reached between them to push her hair out of her face, but he hesitated. Hermione grabbed his hand before he could stash it back by his side. She kissed his knuckles; he rested his palm on her cheek.

"There's a note in the outside pocket of my robes," Malfoy said, his fingers crawling into Hermione's hair. "Give it to Weasley for me, yeah?"

Hermione placed her forehead on his and smiled. "How long have you had an apology note ready?"

"I wrote it the next morning-after I saw you sulking into your porridge in the Great Hall," he responded.

Hermione wrapped her arms gingerly around Malfoy and smiled into the comfortable silence that had settled around them. His breathing became even and rhythmic; Hermione fell asleep with Malfoy's fingertips dancing across her scalp.

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Hermione awoke to the loud voices of Harry and Ron calling for Madam Pomfrey. She groaned and rolled over, which caused her to fall flat on her arse on the ground. She looked around wildly, suddenly remembering where she was. She threw the cloak over her head and grabbed the note from Malfoy's robes, thankful for her friends' wake up call.

Malfoy opened his curtains with his wand. "Oi! I'm trying to sleep here!"

That was all it took for Madam Pomfrey to grab Ron and Harry by their ears and throw them out. "Patients need _rest_ ," she hissed, glaring and slamming the door behind them.

"Blimey," Ron muttered. "What's eating her?"

Hermione came out from under the cloak then, and attacked Harry and Ron with a hug. "Thank you, _really_ , thank you," she said.

"You didn't come back, so we assumed that, you know..." Ron trailed off, rubbing his neck.

"We thought it'd be best if Pomfrey didn't find you _disturbing_ her patient," Harry said for Ron, grinning at Hermione in a teasing way.

Hermione smacked his arm. "Oh, shut it." She held out a folded square of parchment to Ron. "Ron, Malfoy's written you an apology letter."

Ron's eyebrows came together in confusion. "What for?"

"That fight you two had after you found out about us," Hermione said, her voice growing quiet as a thought struck her. "Didn't it bother you?"

Ron turned his head away from Hermione, hoping she wouldn't see his blush. "Yeah, I suppose...It doesn't matter."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Harry beat her to it. "Who else is hungry? I'm _famished_." Harry hooked his arm through Hermione's on one side, Ron on the other. He pulled them down the corridor, giving Hermione a look that clearly read _drop it_.

Hermione bit her lip as she wondered what Malfoy and Ron could _possibly_ have said to each other in that cupboard nearly two weeks ago. A heavy weight tugged at her ribcage when she realized that she would most likely never know.

Hermione Granger _hated_ not knowing.

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The closer Draco was to mending the cabinet, the further away he felt from Hermione.

"Granger," he said one night, holding a camera he'd just asked the Room for. "Smile."

Hermione looked up from her essay, her lips slightly parted and her eyebrows slightly drawn together. The flash made her blink and rub at her eyes.

Hermione laughed through her words. "You tosspot!" She grabbed at him, reaching for the picture. Draco, miraculously, held the picture and the camera above her head with one hand. His other was on Hermione's forehead. He snapped pictures as she flailed her arms at him, fake threats sliding past her lips as Draco sent dashing smiles in the camera's direction.

Eventually her laughter got the best of her and, as Hermione attacked Malfoy's stomach with her tickling, the flash of the camera annoyed her less and less.

Malfoy's arm wavered above his head. "Oi! _Slytherins_ don't get _tickled_."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "They do when they date Gryffindors," she said with an evil grin.

Draco and Hermione split the pictures among themselves. Draco hid them in the binding of his textbooks; Hermione shrunk them and transfigured the backs of them to look like the inside of her trunk, where she taped them backs-up.

Hermione also kept one hidden within the stitching of a handmade pillow she kept on her bed. It was her favorite; Malfoy's laughter played on loop in the tiny square as Hermione's fingers swarmed his abdomen. His head fell on top of hers when the ferocity of his laughter caused his neck to lose the ability to hold his head up. Their faces meshed together, eyes shut tight with joy. They were _happy_ ; _Draco_ was happy.

Hermione kept it so close that the image was ingrained in her memory. The curve of his lip and the rare instance of color flooding his face-it was so real that if Hermione closed her eyes and _really_ focused, it was as if she were there with him again, laughing like there wasn't a war looming over her head; laughing like a normal teenager should have been.

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There was an invisible hand squeezing Draco's heart. Its fingernails dug into his flesh, causing spasms of pain to shoot throughout his veins. His thoughts were violently throwing themselves against each other in his brain, but one stood above the rest.

 _Hermione, Hermione, Hermione…_

He had to find her. He needed his hands in her hair, her body pressed against his. He needed her to soothe the pain of his existence before his anxiety ate away at his sanity.

Draco was wandering the halls aimlessly, not knowing where Hermione would be at seven o'clock on a Tuesday night. He'd already checked the library five times, and was heading back up when he saw her, walking with Potter and Weasley, all three of them talking in hushed voices. When they saw him, they froze, and the four teenagers stared at each other.

Malfoy swallowed hard, eyeing Hermione. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't make the words leave. A strangled, retched sound left his lips instead, and Hermione shoved her bag into Harry's arms.

She looked between Harry and Ron, hollow, meaningless words falling out her mouth as she ran to Malfoy. "Sorry, Harry...Ron...I just-I'll be-" But she had turned the corner, leaving Ron and Harry to stare at each other as Draco's hand-wrapped painfully around her wrist-pulled her along.

"Draco," she said once he'd pulled her into the Room. He had slammed her back against the door, his body so close she could feel him shaking. "Draco, what's-"

"Please don't speak," he managed to say, the stars in his eyes on the verge of dying. Hermione thought of Muggle space terminology, how "ordinary" stars morphed into red supergiants, shining brilliantly before dying out and leaving meager white dwarfs in their place.

Hermione's jaw jutted with her soundless disapproval before she reluctantly nodded and ran a hand over the side of his face, letting it rest on the back of his neck.

"Make me forget," Malfoy begged suddenly, his forehead leaning down to press against Hermione's, almost painfully. "Please, make me _forget._ "

Malfoy desperately needed to escape. Hermione licked her lips and angled her face so they'd be closer. She was unaware of the terror that slapped him awake when he was drifting off to sleep, of the guilt that set his nerves on fire. She was unaware of his demons, but that didn't mean she was unable to block them out.

"You are brilliant," she said, her lips feathering over his. "You are cunning."

Draco shuddered. Hermione ran her hands up his back and bit at his throat. He hissed into her hair. "You are strong," Hermione said as Draco lifted her by the thighs, and Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist almost on reflex.

His mouth came down onto hers and, between kisses, Hermione raggedly said, "You are handsome."

She undid the buttons on her shirt, and Draco groaned into her neck. The vibrancy in his eyes was increasing, and Hermione pulled his chin up so it was parallel with hers; she wanted to watch the stars in his eyes explode. The heat from his gaze inched into the rest of his face, and Hermione marveled at how _alive_ he was. "You are determined."

Their hands were roaming over each other roughly, as if they were competing to see how many noises they could get each other to make involuntarily.

"You are capable," Hermione said, biting her lip as Draco rolled his hips against hers.

She tore off his shirt, her fingers brushing his arm as she said, "You are brave."

Draco's mouth was indecisive, sliding from Hermione's collarbone to her lips, resting for a few moments in several spots before continuing its journey. Hermione ceased his wandering, holding his face in her delicate hands and staring into his volatile eyes.

"You are caring," she whispered. "You are _loved_."

Draco growled, picked her up and threw her onto the bed the Room had provided for them. Draco looked into her eyes, his hands on his belt and an unspoken question in the air. Hermione nodded, her eyes dark with need.

They gripped onto each other desperately and, for one blissful night, Draco Malfoy forgot about the pain that made his head throb. He forgot about the Dark Lord, the cabinet, and his probable death.

He didn't think at all as the stars in his eyes exploded, leaving a supernova in their wake.

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Draco stared in disbelief at the bird flying above him in the Room of Requirement. The cabinet _worked_. His plan was _working_. Maybe- _just_ maybe-he wouldn't die at the hand of the Dark Lord. The elation had already passed-blasting Professor Trelawney back into the hallway had sobered him considerably.

Now he could only think about the freckles that peppered the bridge of Hermione's nose, how they scrunched when she frowned and how the life died in her eyes when she became disappointed.

God, he didn't want to disappoint her.

But his _mother_ ; the Dark Lord; his mission; _death_. His hands shook as he buried his palms into his eye sockets, trying and failing to hold his tears inside. Malfoy screamed, every muscle in his body burning as he forced himself to stay still.

He was terrified of himself. In his irrational state, he dreamt hazily of pulling out his wand and blasting the cabinet to an unidentifiable pile of ash. _They may as well be the ashes of my mother,_ he thought with bile rising in his throat. _If I side publicly with Granger, my mother is dead. If I follow through with my mission, Granger could die._

Malfoy bit his lip until he drew blood. He slammed his hands on the ground as he stood up, confidently walking out of the room and throughout the hallways of Hogwarts.

He had to find Granger; he had to make her understand.

Or, he at least had to _try_.

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Hermione had just drank her share of Felix Felicis, causing all the stress that she'd been harboring since the beginning of the year to melt away. A large smile took over her features, and she knew _exactly_ what to do.

She parted ways with Ginny and Ron to find Draco Malfoy. She only had a few minutes before the rest of Dumbledore's Army started patrolling the corridors.

Hermione grinned as she descended Gryffindor's tower. _Haven't visited Lachlan the Lanky in quite a while…_

Hermione and Draco froze when their gaze met, but then Draco was running at her, his eyes shut tight as he engulfed her in a hug and sighed into her hair.

"I was afraid I wouldn't find you in time…" Draco said, the baggage underneath his eyes looking heavier than ever.

Felix stopped Hermione from blurting out, " _Time for what?_ " in an unconsciously accusing tone. Instead, Hermione was encouraged to let her fingertips lightly massage the base of Draco's neck. His muscles unclenched, and Hermione allowed him to cradle her face in his hands.

She was convinced that no one would find them embracing in the hallway-well, _Felix was_ , anyway.

"Hermione," Draco said, his gaze painfully focused onto hers. "Words cannot express my guilt, my _shame_ -I'm about to do something _unimaginable_ -"

Hermione lightly pressed her lips to his to silence his self-hatred. "I'll still love you," she whispered, her breath tickling his chin.

Malfoy took a few shuddering breaths before speaking again. "You need to stay in your tower tonight. I can't stand the thought of losing you, _please_ , Hermione."

His fingers were gently gripping the hair at the base of her skull, rooting her in place in a vain attempt to alleviate Draco Malfoy's fear of Hermione Granger slipping through his fingers.

"Draco," Hermione said gently. "I _have_ to fight. We both know this."

His eyes scanned her face, his mind searching for a counterargument. "I hate it when you're right," Malfoy grumbled, his finger sliding down her cheek. He pressed his lips firmly over hers and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Hermione groaned into his mouth and wondered if he could feel her heart attempting to jump out her chest.

They were lost in each other, neither wanting to be found. Draco unenthusiastically pulled back, his face downcast and his hands soft as he ran them through her hair one last time. His lips feathered over hers, one last unspoken apology hanging in the air before he vanished down the corridor.

Hermione shut her eyes tight, temporarily forcing Draco out of her mind and focusing on the task Harry had entrusted her with.

The war was beginning.

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Hermione stood with her forearms resting on the railing of the Astronomy Tower, mute from shock. She tried to respond when she was spoken to, but half the time she didn't hear Harry or Ron's words in the first place.

 _Dumbledore was dead. Draco had let Death Eaters into the castle. Bill was maimed. Hagrid's hut was destroyed._

Hermione struggled to breathe. A hand was rubbing awkwardly at her back, then, and Hermione could see Harry's messy, black hair out of the corner of her eye.

"Malfoy lowered his wand," Harry whispered. "He wasn't going to kill Dumbledore."

Hermione rested her head on her arms to hide her tears. Her heart hurt- _no_ , her _soul_ hurt.

Ron came to her other side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "It's alright, Hermione," he said with a half-smile. "You'll get over him soon."

Hermione looked up at Ron in disbelief. She was amazed at how much he'd misread the situation. "Get _over_ him?"

Ron's cheeks flushed at the venom in her words. "Hermione, surely you still aren't-"

"It would be wise to close your mouth now, Ronald," Hermione said quietly, her teeth aching from the ferocity of her jaw clenching.

The redness on Ron's face transitioned from embarrassed to angry, and Hermione flared her nostrils at the fight she sensed hanging in the air above them. "He let _Death Eaters_ inside the castle-he was going to _kill_ -"

"Harry," Hermione suddenly said, causing Harry to jump at his sudden inclusion. Her voice was demanding, and he knew he had no choice but to comply. "What was that you said earlier?"

Harry pressed his lips together, not looking at Ron as he spoke. "I don't think Malfoy had it in him to kill Dumbledore; he lowered his wand…"

Ron jutted out his jaw and looked away from his friends. A tense silence covered them like a musty old blanket, making the air hot and harder to breathe. "Sorry, Hermione," Ron muttered. "I just thought-well, I _wasn't_ thinking."

Hermione's eyes tiredly searched his face. "It's alright, Ron," Hermione said, squeezing his hand. Hermione frowned at the silence that ensued, an uneasy feeling settling deep inside her. _Ron doesn't still have feelings for me,_ Hermione thought skeptically, _does he?_ She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and resisted the urge to scoot closer to Harry.

It would be typical of him to want her now that he knows he can't have her.

Hermione was uneasy in the silence, Harry thoughtful, and Ron frustrated. The three friends stood looking out over the grounds of Hogwarts, knowing that they wouldn't be returning for a very long time.

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Hermione felt like she was suffocating. Her whole life-her Muggle life-was vanishing before her eyes. Her bedroom was bare, and her face was dissolving from all the photographs in her house. She gave her parents foreign names and a burning desire to live in Australia.

However, Monica and Wendell Wilkins had no daughter.

Hermione threw her head back onto the wall she was leaning on as she cried, the wheels of her parents' car screeching away as they drove out of her life, having no recollection of it whatsoever. She banged her head against the wall, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists as the empty picture frames rattled and threatened to fall.

Hermione would help Harry defeat Voldemort out of sheer spite, and nothing could possibly change her mind now that she was theoretically an orphan.

Voldemort would pay, Hermione Granger would make _sure_ of it.

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 **Word Count: 3,133**

 **A/N: So there's that. Honestly, I don't know how many chapters this fic will get to. I'm thinking about writing a bit about them adjusting to life after war, but I'm not sure. I was also thinking about starting a completely** ** _new_** **fic, one that starts out post-war, so I don't know if I just want to continue** ** _this_** **or if I want to start a new concept.**

 **Feedback would be greatly appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **-GG222**


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